Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to supports for floors in grain bins and the manner of assembling the floors in such bins.
It is an established practice to store small grains such as shelled corn, soybeans, rice and the like in a round metal bin having a false floor supported above the bse of the bin to form a plenum chamber across the bottom of the bin. The bin floor is usually perforated such that drying air may be forced into the plenum chamber and upward through the stored grain for drying and conditioning purposes. These bins may be of a substantial diameter, e.g., up to 50 feet or more. The false floors are often formed of sheet metal panels or "planks" which have integral depending interlockable channels at their edges. The channels of adjacent panel edges are internested to interlock the panels as the floor is installed and thereafter to form support beams extending longitudinally of the floor panels. Such floors also may be formed of separate beams and panels which rest upon or engage those beams. In floor systems of either type, spaced blocks, short posts or other direct support elements typically are distributed subjacent the beams, in the plenum chamber, for supporting the floor and the floor load on the base.
A variety of floor support designs have been developed for supporting false floors on the bases of bins. Many individual supports are necessary in a single bin due to the high loading stresses provided by a bin full of grain or the like.
It is highly desirable to provide bin floor assemblies which are flexible in design and easy to assemble and install while providing adequate support for the floor. Moreover, it is desirable to provide components and assemblies that can be fabricated economically using a minimum amount of material and easily stacked for compactness during transportation and storage. It is also desirable to provide an assembly design which insures that the supports will remain in their proper position beneath the floor during assembly and while the floor is not loaded. It is equally desirable for the supports to remain in their proper position during subsequent loading, unloading, cleaning, and inspecting, e.g. such that the floor can be walked on when the bin is empty without having supports tip or tilt and thereupon having to reset such floor supports before the bin. It is also desirable to provide a floor support design that will minimize resistance to air flow during the drying operation when drying air is being blown through the system.